Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
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Wikipedia
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.
In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard. In a broader sense, "harpsichord" designates the whole family of similar plucked keyboard instruments, including the smaller virginals, muselar, and spinet.
The harpsichord was widely used in Renaissance and Baroque music. During the late 18th century it gradually disappeared from the musical scene with the rise of the piano. But in the 20th century it made a resurgence, used in historically informed performance of older music, in new (contemporary) compositions, and in popular culture.
- Procembalo complete free catalog of Contemporary Harpsichord Music
- A brief history of the harpsichord
- Harpsichord maker Carey Beebe has a comprehensive website about harpsichords
- Italian Harpsichord-Building in the 16th and 17th Centuries by Shortridge
- A harpsichord site with images
- A harpsichord constructed from Lego
- Hear the sound of various harpsichords
- Extensive source of harpsichord information
- HPSCHD-L is a mailing list devoted to early stringed keyboard instruments
- HarpsichordPhoto is a site devoted to photographs of early stringed keyboard instruments
- Ernest Miller Harpsichords: Creations in the French and Flemish Traditions
- Interview with harpsichord builder Jack Peters
- "Queen Elizabeth's Virginal". Furniture. Victoria and Albert Museum. http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/furniture/stories/virginal/index.html. Retrieved 2007-08-12.
- A few historic harpsichords from the collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Double virginal by Hans Ruckers, Antwerp, 1581
- Harpsichord by Girolamo Zenti, Rome, 1666
- Harpsichord by Jan Couchet, Antwerp, 1650
- Octave virginal, Augsburg, ca. 1600
- Spinnetta or Virginal, Venice, ca. 1540
- Golden Harpsichord by Michele Todini, Rome, ca. 1675
- Harpsichord, Italy, late 17th century
- Harpsichord by Pleyel et Cie, Paris, 1928
1893 text
The harpsichord is an instrument larger than a spinet, with two or three strings to a note.
Annotations
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According to this 1911 encyclopedia, the harpsichord, harpsicon and double virginals are all either the same or closely related instruments (scroll down): http://5.1911encyclopedia.org/H/HA/HARPY.htm
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Harspicon was simply a charming seventeenth century variant spelling of the harpsicord, a keyboard where strings were plucked with plectra.